Winnebago County Recorder

The County Clerk and Recorder is responsible for maintaining property records in Woodford County. Common documents include plats, deeds, mortgages and liens.

Standard Document recording fee will be $54.00.

Non-Standard Document recording fee will be $66.00

Plat recording fee will be $92.00

UCC Filings will remain $38.00/$18.00

Certified Copy fee will remain $35.00

Federal and State Tax Liens & Releases will remain $12.25

Transfer Declarations - MyDec Requirement

In an effort to maintain clarity and consistency, all Winnebago County property conveyance instruments with consideration of $100 or more must be accompanied by an electronically-completed Real Estate Transfer Declaration using the Illinois Department of Revenue's MyDec portal, located at https://mytax.illinois.gov/MyDec/_/ . They will no longer be accepting any other versions of the PTAX-203 form after July 1, 2023.

Customers must have their MyDec Transfer Declarations completed in advance before submitting their document to record. The status must read "Closing Completed" in order to be accepted by their office. This declaration can be completed using any computer with an internet connection. More information and assistance in completing the forms can be found using the link above.

Cash and checks are acceptable forms of payment. Bills larger than $50 will not be accepted. *The Winnebago County Recorder's Office will no longer return documents that are submitted with too much money*

County recording fees are subject to change without notice. We recommend to contact the local recorder's office to verify this information.

A return to or mail to address is required for all documents being submitted for recording.

A document should consist of one or more individual sheets measuring 8.5x11 inches, not permanently bound or in a continuous form. There should not be any attachments stapled or otherwise affixed to a page. If an attached rider is included, the rider should be permanently attached as an additional page on the back of the deed. Graphic displays accompanying a document for recordation may measure up to 11x17 inches without causing the document to be non-standard.

White paper of at least 20# weight should be used. Copies are not accepted. Provide a clean margin of at least an inch on the top, bottom, and, sides. Margins may be used for non-essential notations that will not affect the validity of the document. Examples of non-essential notations are form numbers, page numbers, and customer notations.

The first page should contain a blank space measuring at least 3 inches by 5 inches from the upper right corner.

The document should be legibly printed in black ink by hand, type, or computer. Signatures and dates may be in contrasting colors as long as they will reproduce clearly.

Provide the name and address of the grantee on any document transferring title. The name and address of the grantee is also needed for tax billing purposes.

Provide the name and address of the person who prepared the document.

A return mailing address is required for all documents being submitted for recording.

Provide a legal description of the real property being conveyed, including the street address. This should be given on the first page or as an attachment. If a metes and bounds description is used, it shall contain the section, township, and range with an identifiable point of beginning. The Winnebago County Recorder does not offer legal descriptions.

A Parcel ID number may also be required, but this is not sufficient as a legal description.

An affidavit for purposes of the plat act is required to accompany a deed when 1) a metes and bounds legal description is given in the transfer of property, 2) when roadway easements and right of way (ingress or egress) are designated, or 3) when a division of land five acres more or less is noted on a deed of transfer.

A properly completed Illinois Real Estate Transfer Declaration (PTAX-203) must be filed with all deeds and any non-exempt transactions. The information needed on this form is requested by the Illinois Real Estate Transfer Tax law. All parties involved in the transaction must complete the form truthfully. This form is used to collect sales data and to determine if a sale can be used in assessment ratio studies. This form is also used to compute equalization factors, which are used to help achieve a statewide uniform valuation of properties based on their fair market value.

If the property transfer is exempt from transfer tax, the PTAX-203 form is not required. A specific exemption number should be noted on the deed presented for recording. The Illinois Department of Revenue webpage has a list of exempt transactions. The form can be completed online or as a hard copy.

Effect of Recording: All deeds, mortgages and other instruments of writing which are authorized to be recorded, shall take effect and be in force from and after the time of filing the same for record, and not before, as to all creditors and subsequent purchasers, without notice; and all such deeds and title papers shall be adjudged void as to all such creditors and subsequent purchasers, without notice, until the same shall be filed for record.